Connector for tent poles

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein a connector for connecting end portions of a plurality of tent poles that intersect with one another. In one embodiment, a connector for tent poles includes a body and first, second and third pole insertion holes formed in the body. In the connector for tent poles, the first and second pole insertion holes maintain a central angle of less than 180 degrees at an intersection point at which the center lines of the first and second pole insertion holes intersect with each other, the radius direction outsides of the first and second pole insertion holes from the intersection point are opened so as to be first and second openings, respectively, and first and second wall portions are formed at the radius direction insides of the first and second pole insertion holes, respectively. The third pole insertion hole is disposed within the range of the central angle, the radius direction inside of the third pole insertion hole is opened so as to be a third opening, and a third wall portion is formed at the radius direction outside of the third pole insertion hole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean UtilityModel Application No. 20-2009-0013937, filed on Oct. 27, 2009, which ishereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forthherein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

Disclosed herein is a connector for connecting end portions of aplurality of tent poles that intersect with one another. Moreparticularly, disclosed herein is a connector for tent poles, in which apole insertion holes are arranged in a fan shape so that an entire bodyis formed in the fan shape, thereby obtaining high flexural rigidity andlight weight.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a tent includes a waterproof fabric and a plurality of polesso that a user can temporarily stay at the tent in the open air whengoing climbing or camping. Various types of tents are formed byassembling such tent poles.

Tent poles are intersected or connected to one another to construct aframe capable of maintaining the external shape and rigidity of a tent.A connector is used at an intersection point of tent poles as acombining means that binds and integrate intersecting tent polestogether.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a related art connector for connecting endportions of three intersecting tent poles.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the related art connector 10 has astructure in which three tubular connecting portions 11, 12 and 13 areradially extended from the intersection point P of three tent poles 21,22 and 23. The tent poles 21, 22 and 23 are inserted from radiusdirection outsides to radius direction insides of the tubular connectingportions 11, 12 and 13 of the connector 10 from the intersection pointP, respectively.

Since the related art connector 10 has a structure in which all thetubular connecting portions 11, 12 and 13 are simply ‘radially’ extendedfrom the intersection point P, the length L of the connector 10 isincreased, and therefore, the connector 10 is very weak to a flexuralload.

In order to make up for the weakness to the flexural load, manyadditional reinforcements are necessarily performed by increasing thethickness of reinforcing ribs 14, and the like. Therefore, the weight ofthe connector 10 is increased, and its price is increased.

As the length of the connector 10 is increased, the arrangement areaoccupied by the reinforcing ribs 14 is increased, and accordingly, theweight of the connector 10 is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments provide a connector for tent poles, having high flexuralrigidity and light weight.

In one embodiment, there is provided a connector for tent poles,including: a fan-shaped body; and first, second and third pole insertionholes formed in the body, wherein: the first and second pole insertionholes maintain a central angle of less than 180 degrees at anintersection point at which the center lines of the first and secondpole insertion holes intersect with each other, the radius directionoutsides of the first and second pole insertion holes from theintersection point are opened so as to be first and second openings,respectively, and first and second wall portions are formed at theradius direction insides of the first and second pole insertion holes,respectively; and the third pole insertion hole is disposed within therange of the central angle, the radius direction inside of the thirdpole insertion hole is opened so as to be a third opening, and a thirdwall portion is formed at the radius direction outside of the third poleinsertion hole.

The body may include a base that constitutes an end portion of theradius direction inside, and first, second and third tubular cylindersthat are connected to the base and have the first, second, third poleinsertion holes respectively formed therein.

The connector for tent poles may be configured by selecting or combiningone or more of a first transverse reinforcing rib formed to transverselyconnect end portions of the radius direction outsides of the first,second and third tubular cylinders, a second transverse reinforcing ribformed between the base and the first transverse reinforcing rib, afirst parallel reinforcing rib formed in a space between the first andsecond transverse reinforcing ribs, first radius direction reinforcingribs respectively formed at both front and back of the first parallelreinforcing rib, and a second parallel reinforcing rib formed betweenthe second transverse reinforcing rib and the base.

The first, second and third tubular cylinders may be more extended tothe radius direction outside than the first transverse reinforcing rib.

According to a connector for tent poles disclosed herein, the insertiondirection of tent poles is newly and variously formed, and a body of theconnector is configured in a fan shape to decrease the arrangement areaof the tent poles, so that the flexural rigidity of the connector can beenhanced and its weight can be decreased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages disclosed hereinwill become apparent from the following description of preferredembodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a related art connector for tentpoles;

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the related art connector for tentpoles;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a connector for tent poles according toa first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of the connector for tent polesaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating a state that poles are connectedto the connector for tent poles according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a connector for tent poles according toa second embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the connector for tent poles according tothe second embodiment; and

FIGS. 8 to 12 are perspective views illustrating various modificationsof the connector for tent poles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodimentsare shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth therein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art.In the description, details of well-known features and techniques may beomitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. does not denotea limitation of quantity, but rather denotes the presence of at leastone of the referenced item. The use of the terms “first”, “second”, andthe like does not imply any particular order, but they are included toidentify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms first,second, etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather thetell is first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element fromanother. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art. It will be further understood that terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will notbe interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expresslyso defined herein.

In the drawings, like reference numerals in the drawings denote likeelements. The shape, size and regions, and the like, of the drawing maybe exaggerated for clarity.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate a connector for tent poles according to a firstembodiment.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5, the connector 101 for tent polesaccording to this embodiment includes a fan-shaped body 200 and threepole insertion holes formed in the body 200. The connector 101 for tentpoles is frequently made of plastic through injection molding. Ifnecessary, the connector 101 for tent poles may be made of metal.

Specifically, the three pole injection holes include first, second andthird pole injection holes 220, 230 and 240. The first and second poleinsertion holes 220 and 230 are formed so that their center linesrespectively correspond to the center lines of first and second tentpoles 21 and 22 in the state that they are established. The first andsecond pole insertion holes 220 and 230 are formed so that their centerlines maintain a central angle θ of less than 180 degrees at theintersection point P at which their center lines intersect with eachother. The radius direction outsides of the first and second poleinsertion holes 220 and 230 from the intersection point P are opened soas to be first and second openings 221 and 231, respectively. First andsecond wall portions 222 and 232 are formed at the radius directioninsides of the first and second pole insertion holes 220 and 230 fromthe intersection point P, respectively. Thus, the first and second tentpoles 21 and 22 are inserted toward the center (i.e., the intersectionpoint P) from the radius direction outsides through the openings 221 and231 to the first and second wall portions 222 and 232, respectively.

The third pole insertion hole 240 is disposed within the range of thecentral angle θ made by the first and second pole insertion holes 220and 230 respectively positioned at both left and right sides thereof.The third pole insertion hole 240 is formed in the opposite direction tothe first and second pole insertion holes 220 and 230. That is, theradius direction inside of the third pole insertion hole 240 is openedso as to be a third opening 241, and a wall portion 242 is formed at theradius direction outside of the third pole insertion hole 240. Thus, athird tent pole 23 is inserted in the opposite direction to theinsertion direction of the first and second tent poles 21 and 22, i.e.,from the radius direction inside to the radius direction outside fromthe intersection point P. In this embodiment illustrated in thesefigures, the center line of the third pole insertion hole 240 passes theintersection point P of the center lines of the first and second poleinsertion holes 220 and 230. However, the center line of the third poleinsertion hole 240 may not necessarily pass the intersection point P.

As described above, the insertion direction of the first and second tentpoles 21 and 22 is opposite to the insertion direction of the third tentpole 23, so that the three pole insertion holes 220, 230 and 240 can beformed in the fan-shaped body 200 having a short length L and a smallarrangement area. That is, in the connector 101 for tent poles accordingto this embodiment, the body 200 is formed in a fan shape with a shortlength L, and the opening directions of the first and second poleinsertion holes 220 and 230 and the third pole insertion hole 240 andthe insertion directions of the first and second tent poles 21 and 22and the third tent pole 23 are set opposite to each other, so that thethree tent poles 21, 22 and 23 that intersect with one another can beconnected to the fan-shaped body 200.

As such, since the connector 101 for tent poles according to thisembodiment is formed in a fan shape, its length is short and itsarrangement area is small, so that its flexural rigidity is high. Also,since the flexural rigidity of the connector 101 for tent poles has highflexural rigidity, additional reinforcements can be reduced, and itsweight can be decreased.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a connector for tent poles according to asecond embodiment. In this embodiment, the shape of a body is differentfrom that of the first embodiment, but other components including poleinsertion holes are identical to those of the first embodiment. In thisembodiment, portions identical to those in the first embodiment aredesignated by like reference numerals.

The connector 102 for tent poles according to this embodiment includes abase 201 that constitutes an end portion of the radius direction insideof a body; first, second and third tubular cylinders 211, 212 and 213respectively extended along the center lines of first, second and thirdtent pole 21, 22 and 23 in the state that they are established; and afirst transverse reinforcing rib 251 formed to transversely connect endportions of the radius direction outsides of the first, second and thirdtubular cylinders 211, 212 and 213 to one another. It will be apparentthat first, second and third pole insertion holes 220, 230 and 240 areformed along the center lines of the first, second and third tubularcylinders 211, 212 and 213, respectively.

The connector 102 for tent poles according to this embodiment has astructure in which many vacant spaces are formed in the body of theconnector 102 for tent poles, so that its weight is decreased, and itsexternal shape looks better.

In this embodiment, the connection of the tent poles 21, 22 and 23 tothe connector 102 and the configuration and function of the first,second and third pole insertion holes 220, 230 and 240 are identical tothose of the first embodiment.

Other Embodiments

FIGS. 8 to 12 illustrate other embodiments of the connector for tentpoles. The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12 are modifications ofthe second embodiment described above. In these embodiments, portionsidentical to those in the first embodiment are designated by likereference numerals.

In a connector 103 for tent poles illustrated in FIG. 8, a secondtransverse reinforcing rib 261 is further formed between the base 201and the first transverse reinforcing rib 251 in the connector 102according to the second embodiment, so that the first, second and thirdtubular cylinders 211, 212 and 213 can be more reinforced.

In a connector 104 for tent poles illustrated in FIG. 9, a secondtransverse reinforcing rib 261 is further formed between the base 201and the first transverse reinforcing rib 251 in the connector 102according to the second embodiment, and a first parallel reinforcing rib262 is further formed between the first and second transversereinforcing ribs 251 and 261.

In a connector 105 for tent poles illustrated in FIG. 10, first radiusdirection reinforcing rib 263 are further formed on both front and backof the first parallel reinforcing rib 262 in the connector 104illustrated in FIG. 9, respectively, and a second parallel reinforcingrib 264 is further formed between the second transverse reinforcing rib261 and the base 201.

In a connector 106 for tent poles illustrated in FIG. 11, the first,second and third tubular cylinders 211, 212 and 213 are more extended tothe radius direction outside than the first transverse reinforcing rib251 in the connector 104 illustrated in FIG. 9. This is similar to thatthe first transverse reinforcing rib 251 is not formed at end portionsof the first, second and third tubular cylinders 211, 212 and 213 butformed at a central portions of the first, second and third tubularcylinders 211, 212 and 213.

In addition, a second parallel reinforcing rib 264 is further formedbetween the second transverse reinforcing rib 261 and the base 201.

In a connector 107 for tent poles illustrated in FIG. 12, the first,second and third tubular cylinders are modified into first, second andthird tubular cylinders 211 a, 212 a, 213 a having a circular section.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 12, in the connector for tent polesdisclosed herein, the shapes of the reinforcing rib and the tubularcylinder may be properly modified or combined according to the requiredrigidity, required weight and required external shape of the tent pole.

As described above, according to a connector for tent poles disclosedherein, the insertion direction of tent poles is newly and variouslyformed, and a body of the connector is configured in a fan shape, sothat the flexural rigidity of the connector can be enhanced and itsweight can be decreased.

Accordingly, in a case where the connector for tent poles disclosedherein is applied to a tent, the structurally strong and light tentpoles and tent can be established.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with certainexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intendedto cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and equivalentsthereof.

1. A connector for tent poles, comprising: a body; and first, second andthird pole insertion holes formed in the body, wherein: the first andsecond pole insertion holes maintain a central angle of less than 180degrees at an intersection point at which the center lines of the firstand second pole insertion holes intersect with each other, the radiusdirection outsides of the first and second pole insertion holes from theintersection point are opened so as to be first and second openings,respectively, and first and second wall portions are formed at theradius direction insides of the first and second pole insertion holes,respectively; and the third pole insertion hole is disposed within therange of the central angle, the radius direction inside of the thirdpole insertion hole is opened so as to be a third opening, and a thirdwall portion is formed at the radius direction outside of the third poleinsertion hole.
 2. A connector for tent poles, comprising: a body; andfirst, second and third pole insertion holes formed in the body,wherein: the first and second pole insertion holes maintain a centralangle of less than 180 degrees at an intersection point at which thecenter lines of the first and second pole insertion holes intersect witheach other, the radius direction outsides of the first and second poleinsertion holes from the intersection point are opened so as to be firstand second openings, respectively, and first and second wall portionsare formed at the radius direction insides of the first and second poleinsertion holes, respectively; the third pole insertion hole is disposedwithin the range of the central angle, the radius direction inside ofthe third pole insertion hole is opened so as to be a third opening, anda third wall portion is formed at the radius direction outside of thethird pole insertion hole; and the body comprises a base thatconstitutes an end portion of the radius direction inside, and first,second and third tubular cylinders that are connected to the base andhave the first, second, third pole insertion holes respectively formedtherein.
 3. The connector for tent poles according to claim 2, wherein afirst transverse reinforcing rib is formed to transversely connect endportions of the radius direction outsides of the first, second and thirdtubular cylinders.
 4. The connector for tent poles according to claim 2,wherein a first transverse reinforcing rib is formed to transverselyconnect end portions of the radius direction outsides of the first,second and third tubular cylinders, and a second transverse reinforcingrib is further formed between the base and the first transversereinforcing rib.
 5. The connector for tent poles according to claim 2,wherein a first transverse reinforcing rib is formed to transverselyconnect end portions of the radius direction outsides of the first,second and third tubular cylinders, and a parallel reinforcing rib isformed in spaces between the first, second and third tubular cylinders.6. The connector or tent poles according to claim 2, wherein: a firsttransverse reinforcing rib is formed to transversely connect endportions of the radius direction outsides of the first, second and thirdtubular cylinders; a second transverse reinforcing rib is formed betweenthe base and the first transverse reinforcing rib; and a first parallelreinforcing rib is formed in a space between the first and secondtransverse reinforcing ribs.
 7. The connector for tent poles accordingto claim 6, wherein first radius direction reinforcing ribs are formedat both front and back of the first parallel reinforcing rib,respectively.
 8. The connector for tent poles according to claim 6,wherein a second parallel reinforcing rib is further formed between thesecond transverse reinforcing rib and the base.
 9. The connector fortent poles according to claim 3, wherein the first, second and thirdtubular cylinders are more extended to the radius direction outside thanthe first transverse reinforcing rib.